Thwarting the greediest generation

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., visited San Antonio on his way back from Bogota where he was ironing out final details of a long-delayed free trade agreement with Colombia. Hoyer helped Rep. Charlie Gonzalez do some politicking, but he stopped by the Express-News for a meeting with the Editorial Board.

Hoyer launched a wide-ranging discussion by humorously recalling his last visit in 2008, when he was House majority leader. “Being majority leader was so much more awesome than being minority whip. I tell people I’m a member of a corporation that’s been a hostile takeover.”

On Barack Obama’s leadership: “We won the election obviously [in 2008] having been dealt, I think, Obama – probably since Lincoln – had the toughest cards to play from the very beginning. ” Though Roosevelt faced a deeper economic crisis at the beginning of his term, Hoyer argued, Obama had to deal with two wars from the start.

On the Troubled Asset Relief Program: “TARP was controversial. I think TARP was absolutely essential. TARP saved us from going into a depression.”

On Obamacare: “We passed a bill that was controversial. We passed it in as probably an ugliest fashion as I’ve seen any major piece of legislation passed. Unfortunately it passed in that manner because it was the only way to get it passed. Republicans in the Senate wouldn’t vote to go to conference.”

On the stimulus bill: “It’s worked. It has not worked perfectly and it wasn’t a perfect bill, but then again none are. But it worked. It worked to the extent that the economy did start rebounding. Since we passed the Recovery Act, the Dow is up some 90 percent. The S&P is up 95 percent. And the NASDAQ is up over 115 percent.”

This is about what you would expect from the Democratic minority whip. But Hoyer also spoke about working to pass the free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and Korea against the objections of the majority of his caucus. He talked about using the Simpson-Bowles debt commission plan as the basis of a bipartisan solution to the debt crisis. And he talked personally about his commitment to find that solution.

“I have three children, three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter,” Hoyer said. “My father was a member of the greatest generation. I don’t want to be a part of the greediest and most irresponsible generation that leaves them deep in debt.”

Hoyer is a staunch partisan, no doubt. But I couldn’t help thinking how much better off our nation would be today if he had been House speaker for four years rather than Nancy Pelosi.